Escapades Through British Literature
Follow on Twitter! (@dr_harrold)
  • Home
  • Armory
  • CP 12
    • Senior Speeches >
      • Sr Speeches 2018-Pd 3
      • Sr Speeches 2018-Pd 5
      • Sr Speeches 2018-Pd 6
      • Sr Speeches 2018-Pd 8
      • Pd 4 Speeches 2017
      • Pd 7 Speeches 2017
      • Pd 8 Speeches 2017
      • Pd 1 Speeches 2016
      • Pd 2 Speeches 2016
      • Pd 5 Speeches 2016
      • Pd 7 Speeches 2016
      • Pd 1 Speeches 2015
      • Pd 2 Speeches 2015
      • Pd 4 Speeches 2015
      • Pd 7 Speeches 2015
      • Pd 8 Speeches 2015
      • Pd 2 Speeches 2014
      • Pd 4 Speeches 2014
      • Pd 7 Speeches 2014
      • Pd 8 Speeches 2014
    • Unit 0: Digital Citizenship
    • Unit 1: Brave New World
    • Unit 2: Gods and Monsters
    • Unit 3: Twists and Tales
    • Unit 4: The Fountain and the Sword >
      • King Arthur Videos (2018)
      • King Arthur Videos (2017)
      • King Arthur Videos (2016)
      • King Arthur Group Projects (2015)
      • King Arthur Group Projects (2014)
      • King Arthur Readings
    • Unit 5: The Witch King
    • Unit 6: Journalists and Satirists
    • Unit 7: Research
    • Unit 8: Wilde's World
    • Legacy Pages >
      • Course Details
      • College Application Essay >
        • Biography Presentation
      • Beowulf >
        • Beowulf Introduction Webquest
        • Multi-Paragraph Essay
        • Beowulf Readings
      • The Canterbury Tales
      • King Arthur >
        • King Arthur Final Project
        • Indiana Jones Activity
      • The Hobbit >
        • Hobbit Readings
      • Renaissance Poetry
      • Macbeth >
        • Macbeth Readings
        • Macbeth Videos >
          • Act 1
          • Act 2
          • Act 3
          • Act 4
          • Act 5
        • Multi-Paragraph Essay
      • Research Project 12 >
        • Book Selections 2013
      • Restoration >
        • Satire
        • Web Tools
      • Romantic Period Poetry
      • Importance of Being Earnest
      • Senior Speech
  • Core 12
    • Be True to Your School
    • Beowulf
    • King Arthur
    • Catcher in the Rye >
      • Catcher in the Rye Readings
    • Values Paper
    • Macbeth
    • Short Stories >
      • Kaffir Boy
    • Research Project
    • And Then There Were None >
      • And Then There Were None Readings
    • Vocabulary 12
  • English 11
    • QUEST 1: Raisin in the Sun
    • QUEST 2: Catcher in the Rye
    • QUEST 3: Perks of Being a Wallflower
    • QUEST 4: The Great Gatsby
    • Quest 5: To Kill a Mockingbird >
      • Words of Wisdom
      • Mob Mentality LessonPaths
    • Quest 6: The Crucible
  • English 10
    • Course Details
    • War Horse
    • Night >
      • Night Readings
      • Multi-Paragraph Essay
      • Schindler's List Activity
      • Orpah Interview
      • Farewell To Manzanar
    • Short Readings
    • Satire Speech >
      • Good and Bad Speeches
    • Copper Sun >
      • Copper Sun Book
      • Socratic Seminars
    • Lesson Before Dying >
      • Lesson Before Dying Readings
    • Short Stories >
      • Harrison Bergeron
      • How Much Land Does a Man Need?
      • On The Rainy River
    • Poetry
    • Career Research
    • Lord of the Flies >
      • Lord of the Flies Readings
      • Lord of the Flies Paper
    • Research Project 10
    • Julius Caesar >
      • Julius Caesar Videos >
        • Act 1
        • Act 2
        • Act 3
        • Act 4
        • Act 5
      • Propaganda >
        • Dueling Speeches
        • Advertising
      • Julius Caesar Paper
      • Julius Caesar Readings
    • Antigone >
      • Antigone Readings
      • In-Class Essay
    • Vocabulary 10
    • Study Island
  • Contact Me
  • EBL
  • External Links
    • 3D Game Lab
    • Google Drive
    • Textbook
    • Gamification >
      • PETEC

Day 577: Lego Camp Day 2: Beyond Expectations

7/21/2015

0 Comments

 
There's a saying I've seen online about worksheets which states "if they understand it, they don't need it.  If they don't understand it, it won't help."  Given that worksheets are often either easy busywork, or impossible frustration, there's not much inherent value aside from seat time in as far as giving them out to students.  Those who want to learn will power through them, and those who don't certainly won't gain anything out of them.  I was reminded of this truth today during Lego Camp watching the fourth and fifth graders work with the Lego Move iPad app.

On a normal day in 12th grade, I'm usually forced to spend a good deal of time reviewing instructions and demonstrating technology to avoid incessant questions later on.  I find I have to think about everything that can possible confuse a student and explain it in advance to avoid issues, otherwise the students will simply quit and go back to doing nothing.  Even with all my planning, some students still find ways to get confused....which has led to me to feel that for some, teaching is simply impossible if students aren't willing to learn.  I was worried today as the elementary students started using the iPad Movie Maker app to film their projects.  I figured that even with my explanations, they'd find ways to get confused or mess something up.  If it happens with seniors, it's surely going to happen with 4th and 5th graders.

But...it didn't happen.  It turns out that when students actually want to do learn how to do something, they don't let anything stand in their way.  After a brief five minute demo of the app, all the students were quickly to work putting their movies together and not a single group quit, complained, hit a wall, or got frustrated.  While I walked around the room and helped them with some minor details, I was amazed at how they were able to push through problems and find features I hadn't even shown them in order to get their projects done.  Not every video was perfect, and not every group was great with the app...but everyone at least tried.  They failed at times, but learned from the mistakes and bounced back.  There's obviously a lot of differences between the elementary school kids and the high school seniors, but I'd wager that elementary school kids, when excited about a task, at least try harder than their high school counterparts.

Now yes, it's true that building Legos and making movies is probably more fun than putting together a project on Beowulf  but even so, I think today's encounter shows a lot about the futility of explanations and the importance of intrinsic motivation.  If students want to learn how to use an app or make a movie, very little will hold them back.  If they don't, very little will help them. The trick, of course, is how to get students motivated about something that they just don't want to do...
0 Comments



Leave a Reply.

    Author

    English Teacher | Instructional Technology Specialist | 2014-15 PBS Digital Innovator | Gamification Researcher | Marathon Runner | Ph.D RMU 2015

    Picture
    Picture
    Teach.com

    RSS Feed

    Archives

    April 2017
    March 2017
    February 2017
    January 2017
    December 2016
    November 2016
    October 2016
    September 2016
    August 2016
    July 2016
    June 2016
    May 2016
    April 2016
    March 2016
    February 2016
    January 2016
    December 2015
    November 2015
    October 2015
    September 2015
    August 2015
    July 2015
    June 2015
    May 2015
    April 2015
    March 2015
    February 2015
    January 2015
    December 2014
    November 2014
    October 2014
    September 2014
    August 2014
    July 2014
    June 2014
    May 2014
    April 2014
    March 2014
    February 2014
    January 2014
    November 2013
    October 2013
    September 2013
    August 2013
    July 2013

    Categories

    All

Content and Site Design by: Dr. Daniel Harrold
 Baldwin High School English Dept.